Article Index

Camera, Battery Life, Conclusion

Camera

The camera found in the Nitro HD for AT&T is without doubt the best camera LG has ever put in a smartphone. The 8 megapixel camera records super sharp images even in low light, provided the autofocus cooperates. That can sometimes be a problem since it attempts to focus automatically instead of when you press the on-screen shutter button, but overall it works fine. The LED camera flash is well modulated, though perhaps a bit narrow in beam, but the white balances on the Nitro HD's camera is, by far, the best I have ever seen on a smartphone. It gets the colors right 95% of the time, at least.

While the Nitro's camera takes great stills, it only creates good videos. It's true that it can record in 1080p mode, but it appears to be saddled with a fixed focus point when doing so. The fixed-focus forward-facing camera can be used for stills or video, and can even record in 720p mode, which is a seldom seen feature.

Music

The Nitro HD's music application is rock solid. It presents album art in a coverflow-like manner when the phone is held horizontally, and the wide selection of equalizer settings make it easy to tune the sound exactly the way you want it. The audio quality was very good, and the easy to access lock screen and notification area music controls kept the tunes easily within reach.

Battery

The biggest letdown with the LG Nitro HD could be its battery performance. In spite of the fact that the phone contains a massive 1830mAh battery, the Nitro HD is rated for a measly 3 hours of talk time and could survive no more than 24 hours with reasonably light use, which means it will require daily charging for most people. This wouldn't be bad if the recent Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and HTC Vivid, both LTE devices on AT&T, hadn't proved that true 4G phones could do much better than just make it through the workday.

Final Thoughts

The LG Nitro HD has an awful lot going for it. It offers blazing data speeds, a great still camera, and one of the nicest displays on the market - all in a physical design that works. The phone is hamstrung a bit by weak battery life when compared with its peers, but it still is a really solid device. I can't say I love it as much as I expected to initially, but I really do like it a lot.